1-1  By:  Gray (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini)                 H.B. No. 603
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 1995;
    1-3  May 12, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on
    1-4  Jurisprudence; May 23, 1995, reported favorably by the following
    1-5  vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 23, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-7                                AN ACT
    1-8  relating to the issuance of a qualified domestic relations order to
    1-9  clarify or modify a final divorce order that provides for the
   1-10  division of a pension or other retirement benefits.
   1-11        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-12        SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 3, Family Code, is amended
   1-13  by adding Section 3.711 to read as follows:
   1-14        Sec. 3.711.  CONTINUING JURISDICTION FOR QUALIFIED DOMESTIC
   1-15  RELATIONS ORDERS.  (a)  Notwithstanding another provision of this
   1-16  chapter, if a court in rendering a final decree of divorce or
   1-17  annulment or another final order dividing property under this
   1-18  chapter did not provide a qualified domestic relations order or
   1-19  similar order permitting payment of benefits to an alternate payee
   1-20  or other lawful payee, a party may petition the court to render a
   1-21  qualified domestic relations order or similar order.  Unless
   1-22  prohibited by federal law, an action seeking a qualified domestic
   1-23  relations order or similar order under this section applies to any
   1-24  previously divided pension, retirement plan, or other employee
   1-25  benefit divisible under the law of this state or the United States,
   1-26  whether the plan or benefit is private, state, or federal.
   1-27        (b)  An action seeking a qualified domestic relations order
   1-28  or similar order under Subsection (a) must be filed with the court
   1-29  that rendered the final order for a division of property.
   1-30  Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter, the court that
   1-31  rendered the final order has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction
   1-32  over the parties and property for purposes of rendering a qualified
   1-33  domestic relations order or similar order as if the court were
   1-34  required to presently divide the plan or benefit in a manner
   1-35  substantially similar to the original division.
   1-36        (c)  Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter, a
   1-37  court of this state that rendered a domestic relations order that a
   1-38  plan administrator or other person acting in an equivalent capacity
   1-39  determines does not satisfy the requirements of a qualified
   1-40  domestic relations order or similar order, retains continuing,
   1-41  exclusive jurisdiction over the parties and property to the extent
   1-42  necessary to render an amended or corrected domestic relations
   1-43  order that satisfies the requirements of a qualified domestic
   1-44  relations order for payment of benefits to the alternate payee or
   1-45  other lawful payee.
   1-46        (d)  A petition under this section, except as otherwise
   1-47  provided by this code, is governed by the Texas Rules of Civil
   1-48  Procedure that apply to the filing of an original lawsuit.  Each
   1-49  party whose rights may be affected by the petition is entitled to
   1-50  receive notice by citation and shall be commanded to appear by
   1-51  filing a written answer.  Following service of citation, the
   1-52  proceedings shall be conducted in the same manner as civil cases
   1-53  generally.
   1-54        (e)  The court shall liberally construe this section to
   1-55  effectuate payment of retirement benefits that were divided by a
   1-56  previous decree that failed to contain a qualified domestic
   1-57  relations order or similar order or that contained an order that
   1-58  failed to meet the requirements of a qualified domestic relations
   1-59  order or similar order.
   1-60        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
   1-61  applies to an order, judgment, or decree without regard to whether
   1-62  the order, judgment, or decree was rendered before, on, or after
   1-63  the Act's effective date.
   1-64        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-65  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-66  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-67  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-68  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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